In the NY Times' House Tour Sheds Light on Life in Old Rome, Elisabetta Povoledo reports on a new feature for visitors in Rome, which she describes as "a bit like passing through a classically themed amusement park." Two recently unearthed patrician residences that cover 20,000 square feet near Trajan's Column have been reconstructed and staged so they present visitors with a multimedia tour of what life was like in the ancient city.

People can read about all the monuments in ancient Rome and even see the remains of many of them, but that doesn't give them a sense of what life was like. Life in Rome was crowded with real estate at a premium, leading to the creation of multi-story buildings. The tour, which explains /shows this and more lasts a half hour. Video is provided by by Lux Vide. The tour was conceived by Piero Angela.